Back to School

September is back-to-school month! It’s the perfect time to talk about the curriculum that we use here at The Academy. You are probably very familiar with our logo – the big-eyed, big-toed, green frog. He’s a loveable character, but he’s more than that. He also represents the curriculum that we use called Frog Street!

The Frog Street Curriculum

Frog Street curriculum is a continuum that covers birth to 5 years of age. It is a nationally recognized curriculum that had its beginnings in 1990. There’s a good reason we chose this Frog Street. They use the best and brightest in the early childhood field to create their developmental and learning curriculums.

Recognizing that children are joyful by nature, Frog Street seeks to tap into that joy. Their programs are filled with songs, music, games, and hands-on materials. Their activities inspire imagination. That is exactly what we think a curriculum for early childhood should be!

Intentionality of Instruction

While the Frog Street curriculum may feel like “fun and games,” the focus is always on intentionality of instruction. This means that the fun-filled, Frog Street learning experiences produce a specific and positive outcome. When we ignite the minds of young children, we are fostering their academic, social, and emotional growth.

Built into the curriculum is the understanding of the impact that family involvement and reinforcement has on learning. This is in line with our belief that The Academy is not just for kids…it’s for your WHOLE family.

Learn More about The Academy Learning Experience

Our program is designed to prepare children for school while they learn that education is great fun! Find out more about the educational programs we offer:

Enrichment Programs

Pre-K Program

Kindergarten Boot Camp

Seasonal Programs

And One More Thing

Our program also includes a social and emotional learning program, created by Dr. Becky Bailey, called Conscious Discipline. This scientifically developed program, provides behavior management strategies that teachers can use to turn everyday situations into learning opportunities.

To Play or To Learn?

That is the question. But the answer is, “You can do both.” Learning through play is an essential part of our child care curriculum at the Academy.

How We Structure Meaningful Play

Most children have a favorite book – maybe one they like for you to read to them every night. And children love to play dress-up. So, at The Academy we combine the two activities by letting children dress up as their favorite character in a book.

What child doesn’t love an Easter egg hunt? And have you ever met a child who wasn’t fascinated by dinosaurs? Now imagine the excitement of a dinosaur egg hunt. Impossible, you say? Not with our ingenious teachers! They put plastic dinosaur figures inside balloons, filled them with water, and froze them to create dinosaur eggs.

How much fun could your child have with a raw egg? Our older children loved making their own “contraptions” to protect a raw egg from breaking when dropped from atop a ladder. (Teachers only on the ladder!) They loved making the contraptions, but they loved it when the eggs broke too!

The Importance of Play

We know that play is important to healthy brain development.  Play allows children to:

• Be more creative
• Develop their imagination
• Improve dexterity
• Increase physical strength
• Learn to reason
• Develop more emotional maturity
• Cooperate with others

And we understand that “we’re creating childhood” every day for the children in our care. We hold that privilege with the highest regard.

Contact Us for Child Care in Nashville and the Surrounding Areas

If our philosophy of learning strikes a chord with you, we would love for you to join our family. Contact us for more information by filling out our online request form.

Kindergarten Boot Camp

At The Academy, our Kindergarten Boot Camp (KBC) is in full swing, and we are so excited to be getting our little “cadets” ready for their first day of school in the Fall. The kids get their own KBC T-shirts that they wear on Tuesdays and Thursdays. And they get their own backpacks, filled with goodies they can use when they go to kindergarten.

The Wheels on the Bus

Learning about the bus that the “big kids” get to ride to school is one of the cadets’ favorite days:

• Getting on the bus.
• Sitting on the bus.
• Getting off the bus.
• Learning bus safety from “Buster” the talking bus.

School Lunches

We set up our own “cafeteria” in the enrichment area to teach our cadets about the school lunch program. Our staff serves them the food in the cafeteria line. The kids love:

• Lining up to go to the cafeteria
• Going through the cafeteria line
• Carrying a lunch tray
• Entering the price on the play cash register
• Putting the chairs on the table when lunch time is over

What’s not to love?

The Three R’s

Our cadets are happy to have “reading assignments” and “homework.” (Parents, enjoy this while you can!) They are starting to feel like real kindergarteners already.

Another favorite is the workbook that each cadet gets. It’s for:

• Writing their names and the letters of the alphabet
• Solving math problems
• Just writing in general

The workbook gives them a such a sense of accomplishment and confidence.

Learn More about the Academy Pre-K Program

At the Academy, you will find state-of-the art learning environments for your children. Our spacious classrooms are designed specifically to optimize a child’s learning experience. Learn more about Kindergarten Boot Camp – our one-of-a-kind summer Pre-K program.

Learning by Playing with Loose Parts

At your child’s birthday party, every other gift from a friend is a 174-piece Lego building kit! A nightmare, right? All those little pieces scattered all over the play room or all through the house! But wait! Those Lego building kits just might be based on a very sound educational theory that we use at The Academy.

It’s called “The Theory of Loose Parts.” If Legos were based on this theory, the theory would say that the more variables (Lego piece) there are in an environment (the play room), the greater the creativity, inventiveness, and discovery. (The theory doesn’t mention anything about cleaning up!)

Loose Parts at The Academy

At The Academy preschools in Nashville, the theory of loose parts fits right in with our philosophy of learning through hands-on activities. When we give the children a variety of items, such as wood, plastic bottles, cloth, string, coffee cans, pipe cleaners, tape, cardboard, coffee filters, paper plates, glue, etc., they make some very creative things. All the while they are using their imaginations freely, improving their motor skills, and building self-confidence.

Unlike the pressure to create a “specific” thing with a Lego building kit, when using the theory of loose parts, there is no expected or implied result. The play is open-ended. For example, we don’t give a child a box of loose parts and say, “Can you make an airplane with these parts?” The child is free to explore, experiment, and discover on his own.

The Academy Wants Our Children to Be All They Can Be

One other way we serve our community of families each year is with Kindergarten Boot Camp. This is a summer program that will prepare your child with the skills needed to have a wonderful experience in kindergarten. Request more information today.

The Academy is here to provide you with the best child care and educational experience possible. From our award-winning Frog Street Press curriculum, to our state-of-the art classrooms, to our fun and exciting playgrounds, we care.

Make sure to check out all of our preschools in Franklin and preschools in Brentwood on our locations pages. We also have preschool locations in Hendersonville, Murfreesboro, and Spring Hill/Thompson’s Station.

Teaching Gratitude at Academy Preschools in Nashville

In May, we celebrated Teacher Appreciation Week at The Academy. We showered our teachers with love and appreciation. This was a perfect way to teach our children more about gratitude. Showing gratitude is an expression of thankfulness and appreciation for what you already have. The commercial atmosphere that we live in does not particularly engender an attitude of gratefulness. So being grateful must be “taught.”

The Benefits of Being Grateful

Proactively recognizing and expressing gratitude makes a person happier, more relaxed, and helps create a positive mindset. Research confirms that a person’s social, physical, and emotional well-being are increased by having a grateful spirit. Some research shows that grateful people have better relationship skills, are more trusting of others, have less stress, can bounce back from challenges better, are less jealous, and sleep better.

Teaching Gratefulness at Home

Our preschool teachers teach gratefulness every day, but you can reinforce this at home too. The first place that almost every parent starts is by reminding a child to say, “thank you.”

But there are so many things to be grateful for that don’t require a “thank you.” To teach your child to look for these things, try setting up a regular time every day to make a list. This can be after dinner or before bedtime. It doesn’t have to take long. You can start by adding only thing to the list each day. To get started, click the form on the right to open and print.

And don’t forget to teach by example. Make your own list of things that you are grateful for and share them with your child. Include little things, such as the smell of honeysuckle in your back yard or the taste of chocolate cake. And, of course, include big things such as having a place to live or a car to drive.

About the Academy

The Academy has 11 preschool locations in Nashville. We currently have preschools in Brentwood, Franklin, Hendersonville, Murfreesboro, Nashville, and Spring Hill.

At The Academy, we like to say “seeing in believing.” We invite you to request more information and schedule a tour of an Academy location near you.

Celebrating Earth Day

April 22 is Earth Day, which was created in 1970 by Senator Gaylord Nelson after witnessing the ravages of the 1969 oil spill in Santa Barbara, California. On the first Earth Day, an estimated 20 million people attended festivities in the U.S. to demonstrate support for protecting the environment. Now, under the global coordination of the Earth Day Network, 193 countries recognize and celebrate Earth Day.

Celebrating at The Academy

At The Academy, we will celebrate Earth Day by planting seeds and sprouts. There is so much to learn from plants. Where do seeds come from? How can a big plant grow from such a tiny seed? How do the sun and rain help a plant grow? If you plant a seed from a lemon, will you get a lemon tree? How do birds plant seeds? How does the wind plant seeds? Do all plants come from seeds? These and many other questions will come up this month the numerous classrooms in our 11 locations.

Celebrating at Home

Plants that seem to burst into life in the Spring have already emerged here in Middle Tennessee. It’s a perfect time for you to take a walk through your neighborhood. Enjoy the sunshine and talk about the wonders of nature that you can see all around you. Consider these activities on your walk:

• search for different flowers of the same color
• count the worms on the sidewalk after a rain
• blow the seeds of a dandelion
• try to imitate a bird’s song
• pull some weeds and examine the roots

Join Our Family

We would love to have you join our family at The Academy. Come and take a tour of one of our facilities and see what your child is missing.

Green Your Scene in 2019

At The Academy, the emphasis in March and April is “Green Your Scene.” So in March, we’ll be focusing on keeping the planet green, recycling, and reusing. We want to teach our children to be mindful of things like littering and to learn how recycling helps the environment.

Recycling at Home

At home, you can help reinforce the idea of recycling. First, explain to your child why you separate the trash and then enlist his or her assistance in putting the recyclable items in the right bin.

Reusing at Home

Additionally, you can help your children think about reusing things. When they outgrow a pair of shoes, for example, help them think of a younger friend or relative who could use the shoes. Or talk about how Goodwill or a “charity closet” reuses donated items. When you have gathered enough items, take your child with you when you go to donate.

Having Some Fun with Reusing

Here’s a simple project you can do at home with 3- and 4-year-olds. It reuses an empty water/soda bottle.

Add these things to the bottle with your child: alphabet beads (search for “alphabet beads” on Amazon), some glitter, sequins or any tiny sparkly things. Then fill half the bottle with water and the other half with light colored corn syrup. When finished, attach the top permanently using a glue gun.

Now for the fun: shake it up and watch the pretty water! Now for the learning: challenge your child to find each letter of the alphabet and write down each one found.

Learn More about The Academy

The Academy is widely considered the best preschools Nashville has to offer. We invite you to learn more by scheduling a tour. With 11 preschool locations throughout middle Tennessee there is always an Academy location convenient to where you live or work. Check out all of one of our 11 convenient preschool locations throughout middle Tennessee.

Academy preschools in Franklin, TN

Academy preschools in Brentwood, TN

Academy preschools in Murfreesboro, TN

Academy preschools in Nashville, TN

Academy preschools in Hendersonville, TN

Academy preschools in Spring Hill, TN

Happy Teeth

In January and February, our emphasis was “Fitness Fanatic.” In January, we concentrated on movement and exercise.  In February, the emphasis was on dental health and happy teeth. February was a perfect time for that topic because it was also National Children’s Dental Health Month.

Dentists Are Not Scary

Through stories in books and our children’s shared stories of their own dental visits, our children learned that a dentist isn’t someone you need to fear. Many of our Academy locations had visits from local pediatric dentists in Nashville. The dental visitors taught the children that going to the dentist can actually be fun. They talked about foods that are bad for our teeth and showed proper brushing techniques using some really big teeth! They even brought the children gift bags to take home.

Our staff is so talented at relating our monthly topics of emphasis to all our activities. Some locations took photos of each child showing their biggest, toothiest smile. Others enjoyed the song from the Broadway musical Annie called “You’re Never Fully Dressed without a Smile.” And meal time at the Academy was a perfect time to talk about foods that are good for healthy teeth. At the Academy, we take advantage of every teaching moment in a way that is natural and engaging. It’s one of the things that we do best.

Advice for Parents

Parents, remember that your children can avoid cavities. For example, brushing teeth twice a day with a fluoride toothpaste and cleaning between teeth daily are easy to do. Then combine that with eating a healthy diet that limits sugary beverage and snacks and seeing the dentist regularly for prevention and treatment of oral disease. Now you have all the keys to a lifetime of healthy teeth and gums.

The Academy Invites You to Join Our Family

We now have 11 child care facilities:

• 5 daycares in Franklin, TN
• 2 daycares in Brentwood, TN
• 1 day care center in Nashville, Spring Hill, Henderson, and Murfreesboro.

We truly care about your child’s health and happiness. So we would love to have your family join our family.

Free Christmas Events

Our family at The Academy wishes you and your family good cheer, good health, and good will toward men! We also hope that you and your family will take advantage of some of the free Christmas activities that are available in Nashville and the surrounding areas.

For example, at The Factory in Franklin, you can wander through a wonderland of decorated 9′ Frasier fir Christmas trees. You can vote for your favorite and automatically enter a drawing to win a holiday-themed prize. This even runs throughout the month of December.

Library and Park Activities

Some other good places to find free activities are the public library branches and local parks. Here are a few scheduled events at libraries:

Holiday Movies
December 14, 2018 @ 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Cookies with Santa
December 21, 2018 @ 1:30 PM – 4:00 PM
Smyrna Public Library
400 Enon Springs Rd W
Smyrna,T N 37167

Yuletide Yummy Confections!
December 20, 2018 @ 5:00 PM – 6:00 PM
Brentwood Library
8109 Concord Rd
Brentwood, TN 37027

Holiday Cookie Decorating
December 22, 2018 @ 2:00 PM – 3:30 PM
Inglewood Branch Nashville Library
4312 Gallatin Pike
Nashville, TN 37216

Park adventures include:

Winter Wonderland
December 15, 21, or 22, 2018 @ 5:30 PM – 9:00 PM.
Travis Price Park, Springfield, TN 37127
Giant candy cane forest with festive decorated scenes, music, petting zoo, and hot cocoa booth. Also, don’t pass up the opportunity to take a family photo with Mr. and Mrs. Claus.

First Day of Winter Hike
December 21, 2018 @ 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Full Moon Hike
December 22, 2018 @ 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Timberland Park
Mile Marker 437.2 on the Historic Natchez Trace Parkway
Franklin, TN 37064

Winter Solstice Celebration
December 21, 2018 @ 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM
Bowie Nature Park
7211 Bowie Lake Rd
Fairview, TN 37062

S’more the Merrier – Winter Solstice Celebration
December 21, 2018 @ 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM
Winter Solstice HikeDecember 21, 2018 @ 3:00 PM – 5:00 PM
Shelby Bottoms Nature Center
1900 Davidson St
Nashville, TN 37206

It’s a Wonderful Life

And finally, how about a free viewing of that favorite Christmas movie, It’s A Wonderful Life? It’s showing at The Palace Theater on 146 N Water Ave. in Gallatin, TN 37066, on December 21, 2018 @ 3:00 PM – 5:00 PM.